Team U.S.A. ‘Night Train’ Bobsled Makes New York Auto Show Appearance

No steering wheel and neither two wheels nor four, so why are we bringing you this Olympic bobsled? Well, because it’s freaking awesome. And we don’t often get a chance to see a bobsled in person. This “Night Train” practice sled—we, and even M-B PR staff, still have no idea why it’s here—was pushed out […]

Jon Yanca

Mar 31, 2010

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No steering wheel and neither two wheels nor four, so why are we bringing you this Olympic bobsled? Well, because it’s freaking awesome. And we don’t often get a chance to see a bobsled in person.

This “Night Train” practice sled—we, and even M-B PR staff, still have no idea why it’s here—was pushed out at the New York auto show by Steve Holcomb’s U.S. sled team during the 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-class unveil. We got a few minutes to talk with pushman Justin Olsen to find out a few more details about the bobsled experience and the team’s gold-medal-winning ride.

Made in the U.S.A., the sled is composed of a fiberglass/Kevlar composite and weighs about 465 pounds—the minimum for a four-man sled is 464 pounds. There is no steering wheel but rather a right and left lever for controls and only one real “seat” for the driver. The rest of the crew sort of piles in behind him. Olsen said that each man’s position in the sled is critical for maximum speed and though there is no verbal communication between the teammates once they’ve filed in, sometimes they’ll give a tap to slightly reposition another member to achieve that optimum placement. Getting as low as possible is the goal for all the pushmen and the team even trains in the wind tunnel to determine the best aero. There is one hand brake at the rear that deploys a horizontal blade, but it isn’t used during the run, only after crossing the finish.

The sled reaches speeds around the 100-mph mark, and Olsen says it’s like riding a roller coaster with your eyes closed since he must keep his head down the entire ride. Sounds like fun to us.